Comelec en banc affirms junking disqualification case vs Marcos Jr.
FILE PHOTO: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, his wife, Louise (L) and his sister Imee (R) smile upon arrival at the Supreme Court in Padre Faura, Metro Manila, Philippines April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc affirmed its first division’s decision to deny the petition to disqualify President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from the 2022 national elections.
This came in a 15-page resolution released on Monday, but promulgated October 7, where the en banc said it had junked the motion for reconsideration filed against the first division’s decision.
In their motion, the petitioners, Margarita Salonga Salandanan, among others, argued that the bases and reasoning of the first division on their decision “are clearly insufficient to justify such resolution and are contrary to the law.”
However, the en banc decided the opposite.
“There is no basis for Petitioners to simply declare that, ‘the bases and reasoning of the First Division are clearly insufficient to justify such Resolution and are contrary to law,'” said the en banc.
“Therefore, We find that there is no cogent reason to disturb the findings of the Commission (First Division),” it added.
The en banc explained that the motion for reconsideration did not raise new matters or issues that would convince it to consider the motion, and only “repeatedly hammered on the same issues it raised before the Commission (First Division).”
It also reiterated that the crime of Marcos Jr. for not filing income tax returns could not be used as grounds for his disqualification as it does not involve moral turpitude.
It then expounded on this, explaining that “an assiduous study of the records and relevant jurisprudence yields to a conclusion that there is no moral turpitude in this case.”
The decision was signed by Comelec Commissioners Socorro Inting, Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, as well as chair George Garcia but with a note saying that he has inhibited from the case.
In a separate Viber message to reporters, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco explained that even the petitioners can still appeal the en banc decision by filing a petition for review on certiorari through the Supreme Court “either under Rule 64 or 65.”
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